Cheapest way to use central heating, keep it on or turn it off and on regularly?

PrincessJR

Hi,

We keep our heating on constantly. just on the lowest setting on the boiler(1). If it drops a bit colder we turn it up to maybe 3 or 4 but then always back down before we go to bed.

Is this the most efficient way to warm the house? Our theory was that the house never gets icy cold, and so the boiler never has to work hard to raise the temp???

Should we only be switching the heating on when we are in the house and cold, or is it best to keep it on low all the time?

Thanks

Farway

You will find many threads on this subject, it really depends on how well [or not] your house is insulated, as the cost is really for heat lost

Personally I fall into the have it on twice a day [morning + evening] and off at night when I am asleep, with an overide if I feeling really cold during the day

But I may not be "average" as my annual gas consumption [hw + ch] is under 10,000 kw and I am warm enough with stat at around 62C

Cardew

Scores of threads and it is always cheaper to have it timed.

The longer your heating is off the lower your bills - absolutely no question!!!

Garz

As per cardew post. If your home is adequately insulated then having it on all the time is pointless. If you want it warm all the time then you have to pay the price.

ariba10

Is it cheaper to boil a kettle when you need it or keep one simmering 24 hrs per day?

mech_2

I keep mine on all the time at 17 or 18 degrees C on the roomstat. The savings from turning it off didn't really balance the discomfort of cold draughts due to the house being less evenly heated. Sometimes I'll manually turn it down to 16 at night or if I feel too warm, but I don't always bother. I think lower thermostat settings are possible for the same comfort level when my house is a more even temperature which probably offsets the extra cost. I think of it in terms of value for money rather than absolute cost. Ie: More hours at a lower cost per hour are better value even if the total is a bit more.

A timer never fitted with my lifestyle anyway. I don't have a ridgid timetable.

elaina79

I always have mine on but just turn it up if its chilly and at night it goes down to about 15ish. My boiler is a bit tempremental so if I switch it off there is no guaruntee it will come back on.

Cardew

elaina79 wrote: »

I always have mine on but just turn it up if its chilly and at night it goes down to about 15ish. My boiler is a bit tempremental so if I switch it off there is no guaruntee it will come back on.

Your boiler will be turning on and off regardless of what temperature you set on the thermostat if you have the timer set to 'on constantly'

Turning the thermostat right down at night is effectively the same as turning the boiler off - as the house generally should not cool down enough overnight to fire up the boiler.

The OP asked the 'most efficient way to warm the house.' Assuming that means 'cheapest way to warm the house', then the longer the heating is off the cheaper it will be.

PrincessJR

thank you all for your advice.

We live in a small cottage with only 2 bedrooms, and have fairly average insulation so our place tends to never be that cold really.

I think we will try leaving it off at night and throughout the day when we're at work and see if the bills change!

Thanks again